


Relief

by dreamlord



Category: Tiger & Bunny
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-07
Updated: 2015-07-07
Packaged: 2018-04-08 03:17:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4288647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamlord/pseuds/dreamlord
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Request: Relief work is wearing, both mentally and physically. Kotetsu and Barnaby deal with the aftermath of a disaster and the drain of mental fatigue in their own ways, but their needs may ultimately not be dissimilar.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Relief

**Author's Note:**

  * For [gryfeathr](https://archiveofourown.org/users/gryfeathr/gifts).



It only took one.

An earthquake of this size wasn't something the city was unprepared for, necessarily, but if there was one oversight, one infrastructural weakness...

A building collapsing, people panicking, a pipe bursting in a main street causing cars to topple. At least it wasn't Sternbild, at least it wasn't his home, but it was harder being there to help then watching it on the news. Kotetsu hated just watching, but being on the scene... Even if he knew he was doing more, it only made him feel the helplessness that much more.

Searching for survivors under the hot sun, sorting through the dust and rubble... and feeling his heart die a little everytime they uncovered a wrist, a face, a body without a pulse. Every survivor made it worth it, but it was hard to feel like a hero when so many were dead.

Night had fallen, and though they searched until late, eventually they were ordered to get a few hours rest. He sat alone, skin sticking to the sleek leather of the chair he'd collapsed in, swirling the glass of whiskey and contemplating how wise a second glass would be when tomorrow would be just as hot and dehydrating.

Earlier, he managed to distract himself at least a little teasing Barnaby about the red across his cheeks. Despite careful sunblock application and the shade of their helmets, his paler partner has still managed to gain a mild sunburn just under his eyes and across the bridge of his nose. The thought made the edge of his lip quirk upwards, and he downed the rest of his glass, setting it aside and taking a large inhale before forcing himself out of the chair, grabbing hold of the shirt he'd slung over the furniture's arm and wrestling if over his head.

Night air. That's all he needed, he lied to himself as he quietly pulled the brass door handle to a close behind him.

The tiny snaps and crinkles of rocks shifting and crumbling beneath his feet felt closer, outside the reinforced hero suit. In the distance, there were still some lights and police with dogs. This section was dark and abandoned. But someone could have been missed. There was always someone missed, somewhere.

His mask sat dutifully across his face, even though the night obscured his face, and technically he wasn't supposed to be on duty, and really, everyone knew his identity anyway.

Still, it helped hide the fatigue that hung heavily around his eyes.

Balance. It felt slightly off from the whiskey, but he was an experienced drunk, and he hadn't had more than he could handle. He stepped over uneven ground, climbing downwards past some of the rubble, as if the deeper he could go, the closer to the disturbed earth, the more he could feel missed victims.

It was quieter now, without as many feet and the distant roar of too much traffic, the shouts of EMTs...

Kotetsu closed his eyes, concentrating, and activated his power. His hearing became a different sense entirely, and the world opened, alive and moving and never quite still even in softest hours of the night. He searched for something, anything out of place, a heartbeat, a voice in a direction there shouldn't be one if it was just another rescue worker. C'mon... C'mon...

Wait. What was that? It... was that a person? There was movement below, and some indistinguishable whine.

His pulse spiked. Good enough.

Kotetsu moved, methodic, concentrated, trying to keep his focus to hear another sound. It was a little to the right...

He darted across rubble, shifting large chunks of debris carefully, trying to work his way downwards. There is was again... quieter. But he was getting closer, he could tell. He didn't have much time left to use his hearing to navigate, but he couldn't go smashing through the way he wanted, or he'd risk shifting rubble and hurting whoever he was hearing. He swiped a forearm across his brow to wipe the sweat away, grumbling about the lack of light. It was already hot enough out here without doing hard work, and he could use one of those hard hats with a light on it. Actually, he really was completely unprepared, the more he thought about it.The moonlight wasn't enough with all these shadows. And there went the last few second of his power...

Great. Now he really was going in blind, without the audio cues to help. He knew the general direction... Maybe if he concentrated really hard, he'd still be able to hear something, he thought as he slipped down and felt a different texture beneath his hands. It was smooth and polished- it must have been tiles from the walls and floors of the building..."Urk-!"

He slipped, abruptly, as his foot slipped on the smoother surface than expected, swinging an arm around to grab hold of something- anything-nearby, and wound up smacking his side into hard against what might have once been a support beam.This wouldn't have been a big deal, if he didn't hear the shifting of rubble overhead. He squinted, throwing up an arm- Fuck! That was large-!

He'd been sure the impact would be painful. He was confused when there was no impact at all, despite the loud crashing sound that broke the quiet air. He cracked open one eye he hadn't realized he'd closed, only to see a familiar blue glow and soft curls across strong shoulders.

"Wha- Bunny!" Kotetsu's heart swelled. Was he that drunk? No, Bunny was definitely here. And he'd definitly just used his hundred power, from the looks of the large chunk of cement that was now cracked in two at either side of them.

"Careless!" The blonde man snapped, sharp eyes abruptly meeting Kotetsu's. "That would have been a concussion at best."

"Er...well.. I was distracted..."

"Drunk."

Ouch. "Bunny..." Barnaby wasn't wrong, but Kotetsu really... really couldn't handle a lecture right now.

Maybe it was Kotetsu's tone, or maybe Barnaby was just relieved he was alright. His sharp expression fell. "I'm not here to yell at you. I figured you'd be out here, it isn't like you to rest at a time like this."

"Oh. ...Wait. You were worried about me?" Kotetsu's face split into a grin.

"Stop that," Barnaby mumbled, glancing away. His cheeks were still red from the sun earlier. "I still have my powers for another four minutes. Whatever you were after, let me help."

"R-Right! Yeah!" It was sort of embarassing, the warmth that washed over him. Having Barnaby by his side, even in the aftermath of such a tragedy... It made everything feel a little easier to handle. Maybe the younger man was just better at hiding how he was affected, keeping a clear head, but the blond man's confident stance and unfaltering focus made it easier for Kotetsu to center himself.  
"There was, uh. Something. A sound, I thought someone might be below..."

"Mn." Barnaby closed his eyes, and frowned. "I can't hear anything significant. Let's see if we can get closer."

"...Kinna surprised you came out here, y'know."

"Too much small talk and I won't be able to hear."

"Right, right..." He could keep quiet for a few minutes, as they shifted through rubble. How could Barnaby be so unaffected? There was no way he wasn't exhausted, they all were. But how could anyone not be emotionally drained as well? He frowned, watching his step this time as they moved deeper.

"Something," Barnaby's head turned abruptly. "I think I heard it. But..."

"But what?"

"No, nevermind. Left."

Barnaby had looked perturbed, but he wasn't hesitating to keep moving. The blond man took care of any of the larger obstacles in their way so long as his power was active. Slowly, it faded, but they could both tell they were close.

"Gotta be a little to the right now," Kotetsu whispered, crouching.

"Did you hear something?"

"No- just my gut!"

" ..."

"No snide comment?"

"Better than mine, when there's no evidence."

Whoa. Was Bunny feeling alright? Kotetsu gave him a funny look, but Barnaby ignored him and kept moving. It was only then that they heard it- a low whine, coming from beneath a larger chunk of collaped ceiling. Together, they lifted it. Together, they stared.

A small shepard mix stared back.

"A dog?!"

"I suspected it earlier. It didn't sound quite right for a person."

"Well, it. Uh. I guess you're a citizen of Sternbild, too, aren't you buddy?"

The dog was covered in dust and dirt, and didn't seem able to stand. "Back leg injury," Barnaby pointed out. "Careful, it might... bite."

Kotetsu had already cautiously lifted it.

They worked their way back and flagged down some of the active relief workers. Exhaustian was working its way back into their bones, and they found themselves sitting side by side.

"So, what, you wandered out here assumin' you'd find me? How'd you even know where to look?"

"Not exactly." Barnaby slipped his glasses off the sun-reddened bridge of his nose, cleaning the lenses, striking a handsome profile. "I was headed to your room, and saw you leaving. I wasn't surprised, so I followed you."

"Oh. Well. What if I didn't go anywhere?"

"Then I'd have offered you company other than whiskey."

Kotetsu snorted. "Not that I don't appreciate it, but I don't need a babysitter, either."

"..No, you don't. But you aren't the only one that needed company, and I'm more fond of you than whiskey."

Oh.

Ohhhhh.

Kotetsu's lip twitched up into a small smile. "Well. I'll take it as an honor to rank higher than whiskey."

"Don't, I'm not fond of it, so its not hard."

Kotetsu eyed him, then reached over and flicked his forehead. "That's not cute. Go back to being cute."

Barnaby twitched, "I wasn't ever being cute."

"Now that's a goddamn lie. Coming to check in on me? Cute. Your sunburn? Cute. Admitting you wanted my company? Very cute."

"If you're just going to mock me-"

"I'm not. Thanks. I mean it."

"..." Barnaby glanced at him, and Kotetsu flashed a thumbs up. Endearing idiot. "Today was still awful."

"It was, yeah."

"But it's not as awful when I'm with you."

Kotetsu was quiet, before reaching over in the dark to sling an arm around Barnaby's shoulders, tugging him closer. He could feel the tension leave the younger man's shoulders with a wave of relief.

Definitly cute.


End file.
